Surrey
by BetweenLines55
Summary: What was supposed to be a "Girls Night" in Surrey turns out to be the start of an abrupt adventure with a tall, dark, and handsome American stranger Hermione meets at the pub. A thought to be dead group is after both of them. Wait, what? T for alcohol and swearing.
1. Girls Night Out

**I don't own anything. everything you recognize belongs to JKR or R-squared. **

**Chapter 1**

**Girls Night Out**

Hermione had already spent most of the night sitting at a dingy little table in the back corner of his horrible pub plotting her revenge on Ginny and Luna. It was their fault, Hermione had decided about an hour ago, that she was sitting there at a table stained by formally lit cigarettes and other questionable substances. This "Girls Night" was not turning out to be better than the quiet night in that Hermione had planned to have, like Ginny had promised it would be.

Hermione's night in would have consisted of decent music and better whiskey.

She didn't know where her friends had escaped to in this pub in Surrey. She had lost them about half an hour before she had come to her great conclusion about this night. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up with a book as she had planned. The only thing that stopped her was that if she did leave, she'd never hear the end of it.

The shit whiskey they served here aside, Hermione was in need of more alcohol.

As she made her way to the bar, she spotted the long red hair and freckled shoulders of Ginny, who was currently chatting up some bloke with pointed ears and a mop of messy, dark curls. Hermione's friend was obviously inebriated, enough to make her think about men other than Harry. Hermione stopped herself from going over and saying something.

She was feeling just a bit spiteful.

The bartender, like the bar he worked behind, was a greasy man wearing a maroon shirt rolled up to the elbows. He leered at her as she walked up. She wouldn't have talked to a man with a look on his face like that otherwise, but this man was able to procure alcohol, and that was enough.

"Gin and tonic, please," Hermione said as she pulled money from her tiny hand bag, one that unfortunately did _not_ have a stretching charm on it, and placed it on the counter.

"Comin' right up, luv." The bartender gave her another leer and went to mix her drink. She contented herself on drumming on the bar with her fingertips as she spied on Ginny, who had now situated herself in her bloke's lap.

When Hermione received her drink, she gave a grateful nod. She turned around to back to her horrible little table in the corner that smelled like piss and-

-almost ran smack into a very tall man, with a very muscular chest.

Hermione was of decent height, the tallest of Ginny and Luna, but this man was incredibly tall.

"_Mi scusi_." The man said, "I didn't see you there."

Despite the Italian, at least Hermione guessed it was Italian (some Romance language anyways) his accent was undoubtedly American. She had to tilt her head up to get a better look at his face, and was suddenly struck with the notion that he looked very much like a certain _deceased_ Sirius Black.

They had the same high cheek bones, piercing gaze, some obvious tattoos and long, dark hair. The had the same aura too, a bad boy vibe that clearly read, "Don't screw with me or you'll regret it." There were some differences too, of course. This man's eyes were so dark brown, they looked black, he was taller than Sirius, had an earring in his left ear, and was dressed entirely in black, which contrasted in his milk white skin.

Hermione was momentarily struck speechless. It took the man's question of, "Um, are you all right?" to shake her out of her thoughts. "Of course," she squeaked, very unlike her and she mentally scolded herself for getting so caught up in the moment, "I need to watch where I'm going. Pardon me."

She scurried out of his path and back to her putrid little corner.

.

.

.

It took another hour for Hermione to lose Ginny. The red head had disappeared some time ago, maybe with her friend from before, and Hermione felt the smallest amount of guilt about stopping her. Not for Ginny's sake, Hermione was still mad at her, but for Harry's.

It surprised Hermione more than it should have when Luna plopped herself down in the other chair across from her. "Hullo," the blonde said.

Luna was dressed eccentrically as always. Her dress was lavender tonight, with ill-placed frills on her hips that were a clashing burnt umber. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she seemed to be having a much better time than Hermione.

Hermione waved at her friend with an empty glass. Luna was not deterred, "You seem to be having an awful time, and the wrackspurts aren't even in your ears!"

"This place is scummy, it smells awful, the liquor is horrible, and Ginny is possibly cheating on the savior of the entire Wizarding world," Hermione huffed, "You could say it hasn't been a good night."

The blonde sighed airily in the usual Luna fashion, "Pity that. The Nargles must've muddled up her mind. Maybe I should find her. Do you need a breath of air, Hermione?" Luna looked at her curiously.

Hermione was at a loss as to why she hadn't thought of that herself.

.

.

.

He seemed to be following her that night.

She had gone out a side door that led onto a little side street where there was no bouncer, and the smell of the place had more or less been dissipated in the heavy Surrey air. The tall man with the dark eyes and dark clothes had beaten her out there, casually smoking a cigarette. Another similarity between the man and the late Sirius Black.

"Hello, again," the man said between drags, "Small world, huh?"

Definitely American. Hermione was a bit surprised he remembered her, after the thirty second encounter at the bar, but the least she could do was be polite, "Er, yes, hullo."

He reached into the inside pocket of a beat up looking leather jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, "Want a smoke?"

"No thanks, I don't."

Smirking, he said, "You don't want one or you don't smoke, because you look like you could use one. Nobody drinks gin and tonic unless they've had a stressful day."

Hermione gave a glare that even she knew was sort of wimpy, "Both."

"You're friends drag you out tonight?" He asked. Hermione was more comfortable around him than she probably should have been, what with all the questions, but then again she was a bit tipsy and this man was so far the best looking one she'd come across all night. "Yes, how did you...?"

The man was still smirking, "The same thing happened to me. All I wanted to do was have some wine and go to bed, but then Leo got this crazy idea to go to a pub because we're in _England_ and you don't go to _bars_ in England you go to _pubs_. He got all excited and started with this crap about how I owe him or something and then Leo ditched me for the first girl he sees and here I am. Though, if I get to talk to you, I guess it's not so bad." He winked at her, maybe, it was hard to tell with only the light coming from the bulb beside the door.

Hermione blushed in-spite of herself (definitely the alcohol), "Similar thing happened to me. It was supposed to be a 'Girls Night' but obviously that didn't happen. My best friend ditched me for some bloke, while she's dating a mutual friend."

The man whistled, "Wow. We have some great friends, don't we?"

Hermione chuckled and opened her mouth to agree when something caught her eye. Across the street were four or five figures, their genders hard to tell. They were wearing familiar silver masks that made her heart leap to her throat. Some sort of beast was with them, like a large dog.

Hermione felt helpless. She couldn't pull her wand out with this Muggle right across from her.

But she didn't have to worry about that, because the man grabbed her wrist and dragged her off at a run the other way.

**And there we have it folks. Remember that reviews are love, and so are favorites. Expect a second chapter up soon! **

**Virtual cookies to anyone that can guess Ginny's gentleman friend.**


	2. Boys in the Yard

**Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! Congrats to PrincessOfTheMoon87 and christian's bytch for correctly guessing Ginny's gentleman friend: Leo Valdez! Cyber cookies for you!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Haybarry82 for being wonderful in general and PrincessOfTheMoon87 for being a troll and scaring the crap out of me, enjoy guys!**

**Chapter 2**

**Boys in the Yard**

Hermione wasn't thinking clearly. All she knew is that this man was leading her away from the Death Eaters, and that he somehow knew who they were and what they did. Tricky business.

"Who are you?" She asked as she was dragged along. The man shushed her and pulled a tight corner that continued into a tighter alley. His eyes glittered sporadically in the dim lighting of Surrey. Hermione realized just how close they were. She hoped she wasn't blushing too hard, and then the realization hit her.

"Seriously, mate, who the hell are you?" She whispered this time. He didn't shush her. He gave a non answer that riled her up more, "Names are powerful things, sweetheart, I dunno if I should trust mine with you." She glared at him again, "I was not pulled along a dirty Surrey road at one in the morning in three inch heels away from bloody _Death Eaters_ just to be called sweethe-"

"Wait, you know who the Hades they are?" The man asked. She continued to glare at him, this time for interrupting her, but it was obvious the game had changed.

"I figured you did, too, considering how quickly you ran from them." Hermione said. The man gave a peek beyond the alley, "I just know their pet, and it isn't gonna be pretty trying to stop it."

Their pet? Since when did Death Eaters, even probably third rate Death Eaters like these and the last of the cult, keep pets? "I'm going to ask this one more time, who are you?"

He looked deep into her eyes and she felt very vulnerable, as if he was looking at her very soul and delving into past memories and experiences. Finally, he shook his head, "Well, I suppose I'll need you around. Call me Nico."

"Pleased to meet you Nico, I'm Hermione. I'd shake your hand but..."

They were _very_ close together. Nico laughed. It was low, and rich. Hermione liked his laugh. "I get the picture," he said, "On another note, do you know how we might stop these guys?"

"We have to call the Aur-police." Hermione cursed herself in her head. Damn, that was close. Nico have her an odd look, "If my theory is correct, the regular cops aren't gonna be able to do _anything_."

There was silence for a minute. Hermione heard a car horn and nearly jumped out of her skin. He was suspicious, and it was bad. "Granger," he finally said, "you're part of the Golden Trio, aren't you?"

How in _Merlin_ did he know who she was? He didn't seem magical, but then again...only witches and wizards knew about the Golden Trio. Her brain had shut down. This was bad.

"Damn, did I break you?" He said. She couldn't respond. Hermione was still waiting for him to say, "Oops, different Granger, I got you confused with someone else that's part of another Golden Trio." But that never came.

Footsteps, and a low growling. Nico's head whipped to the opening in the alley. Four, third rate Death Eaters and a huge wolf-man hybrid blocked the exit. Nico whispering "Run" was all it took, and Hermione followed the strange man. Spells were yelled out. Hermione was fighting an inner battle against herself to pull out her wand in front of Nico and finally lost, launching a good "_EXPELIARMUS_" and hurtled after Nico.

.

.

.

She ended up following him to a back garden of someone's house. Nico easily jumped the fence and reached down to pull Hermione over. She followed him behind a bench surrounded by tall leafy plants in pots. Nico has shielded her with his body, which was very chivalric and all, but she could take care of herself and-

Nico had a sword.

Hermione clearly remembered Nico being weaponless in the alley. In such a cramped space she would have known if he had anything of the sort. The blade was black and had an aura of power around it, similar to Nico's, the handle was black leather and a diamond and ruby skull was set into the pommel; the blade was enchanting, and she wanted to just reach out and touch it.

"Don't you freaking _dare_." Nico said, slapping her hand as she reached out and breaking Hermione's trance, "One touch and you'll never see your friends back in that shitty pub ever again."

The footsteps were approaching, and a distinct howl made the hair on the back of Hermione's neck stand straight up. "Here?" A disembodied voice asked

"You were the one who said to follow the damn beast." Another said. A growl followed. Whatever it was, it was not happy with being called a beast. "We'll go after it, Mundy, Higgins, say with _the wolf_."

The wolf?

Hermione heard a "_Alohorma_" and a "_Lumos_". There was a squeak of the back gate unlocking, and she felt Nico tense in front of her, "They're going to find us, so as soon as they do, hex them with all your might and run and call you police or whatever. I'll distract them."

"They'll kill you," Hermione whispered back.

Nico turned his head just enough to look her in the eye. He looked amused. "They won't _kill_ me. They'll want to smack me around a bit. It'll be fine. Besides, why are you worried, you've known me for like, 15 minutes."

She didn't have an answer to that. And even if she wanted to think of one, she couldn't because one of the Death Eaters ripped away the bench. Nico was ready for it, and rolled right into the Death Eater's robed legs. Hermione ducked out of the way, as the man yelled, "I'VE GOT YOU NOW, GOLDEN GIRL! DON'T TRY TO RUN."

"_PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!_" Was Hermione's response.

Nico was slashing at the wolf-thing who had gotten away for Higgins and Mundy, but seemed to be making little progress on killing the it. He had a little blood running down the side of his face, and hopefully it wasn't as bad as it looked. Nico caught her eye and screamed, "RUN, HERMIONE!"

Everything happened all at once. The wolf dodged one of Nico's jabs and tackled Hermione to the ground as she made a getaway to the gate. It pinned her down and snapped at her neck. One of the Death Eaters Hermione hadn't hexed growled, "Drop the sword or our friend takes out the bird's neck."

No, Nico, Hermione thought, don't you _dare_ give in.

Spit dripped down from the beast's maw. It had big bronze eyes and black and gray mottled fur that had been torn out in several places. Its canines were as big as Hermione's little finger.

She heard a dull thump over the growling in her ear. Dammit Nico.

"Now putcha hands behind ya back." Another Death Eater ground out, "you'll be comin' wi' us."

A boot came into contact with Hermione's head. Everything went black.

**Ok, so if you don't get the chapter title: people in England apparently, from what I've heard anyways, don't call the green parts in front of and behind their houses "yards" but "gardens". Same in France, I think. And the title was a Bad Pun. If this is wrong, please correct me. The Internet is not always a valid information source.**

**And sometimes women are called "birds" in England. England is a strange place.**

**Anyways, reviews are love. Don't forget to favorite and follow if you liked it. Expect a soonish update!**


	3. Not Exactly Grannie's House

**Whaaaa? 23 follows? 8 favorites? Thanks guys. This is your soonish update, so enjoy.**

**Chapter 3**

**Not Exactly Grannie's House**

Hermione woke up with a pounding headache and a stiff neck. The blindfold someone had tied kept her from knowing where she was, but even if she could see, she still doubted she would have been able to tell her location. Restriants were tied around her wrists and ankles. Her back was pressed against something cool, and she was sitting on a cold, stone floor. The room was musty.

"Damn, I could use a smoke." Hermione sighed with relief at the sound of the familiar voice. Nico was tied up with her. She could feel him shift behind her. The cold something her back was pressed up against was _his_ back. Nico's skin was as cold as a cooling corpse, and she unfortunately knew from experience.

"Nico, do you have any idea where we are?" Hermione whispered. She felt Nico's back relax, "Nope, but I don't plan on that being the case for long."

He shifted around, getting comfortable, and there was silence for a few moments. Hermione could tell her wand had been taken, probably along with Nico's sword. If Nico had a plan, it had to be a good one to get them out of this mess. Ginny and Luna didn't even know where she was, so Hermione doubted help would be coming anytime soon.

"Ok," Nico said finally, "I know what the wolf is, and you know who the thugs are. If we put what we know together, we can lock 'em up."

Hermione thought about this, "But you know who I am and I have no idea as to what you are."

"Don't you mean who?"

"You can't just whip out a sword and expect me to go along with it and not ask questions." Hermione heard Nico chuckle, deep and rich like always. She scowled underneath the blindfold. The nerve of him, laughing at her while they were tied up by the enemy.

"I take it you're not someone you likes to be kept in the dark, pun not intended," Nico said. He sighed, "All right, look, the wolf is a Greek lycanthrope-"

"That's impossible, the full moon isn't for another two weeks!" Hermione said a bit too loudly. Nico shushed her, "If you would let me finish, I'll explain. Look, Greek lycanthropes are different. They're direct spawn of King Lycan, the first werewolf, if you will. They can morph into their full lycanthrope state anytime they please, full moon or not. Since King Lycan, cursed by the Greek gods for inviting them down from Olympus and feeding them his own children, is the most powerful werewolf, his spawn are equally as powerful. I've never seen one in Europe though."

Hermione had read a good deal of Greek mythology, but had never come across anything about King Lycan, or his "spawn". "How do I know you're not lying?" There was a deep sigh from behind her. "Fine," Nico said, "but you have promise me you won't scream, or tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Deal?"

Hermione thought about it, "Very well." The next second her back became much colder, she shivered, and all of a sudden, long, pale fingers were untying her blindfold. She was looking directly into the smoldering eyes of one very mysterious Nico...something or other. "How...?" The question died on Hermione's lips as she was sucked into his gaze.

"My own brand of magic, sweetheart." Nico said, "I'll fill you in completely in a minute, but we have to get out of here first, and find our weapons." He continued to untie her and all she could do was stare. They were in a cellar, that was certain. Low light from the street lamps outside illuminated Nico's pale face and dark eyes. Her head still hurt.

Once her bonds had been undone, Nico helped her to her feet. "Get behind me, and do as I do," was the order she received. She was new at this, fighting without a wand thing, but Nico seemed relatively at ease at the prospect of defending himself with just his fists. Hermione wondered how many times a weeks he had to fight for his life, if he was this good at. Nothing had seemed to surprised him, at least, not yet.

They eased up the stairs, Hermione behind Nico. The door was unlocked, (the Death Eaters seemed very cocky for being third rate) so Nico eased it open. Hermione could hear them now.

"When d'you think they'll be up?"

"D'you think I know, Higgins? Whenever they do, we'll rough 'em up a bit."

There was a low growl.

"Aye, and we'll kill the boy and hold the girl for ransom. She'll drive in a good price even if we _do_ rough her up a'bit." Hermione's stomach squirmed uncomfortably at that. Nico didn't seem to worried about the death threat and Hermione wondered again how often he was put into situations like this.

"On three," came Nico's whisper. He held up one finger, then two, then three. He pushed the door all the way open and downed the first Death Eater with a sudden kick between the legs.

"C'mon men!" The Death Eater that seemed to be in charge was yelling now, "THERE'S ONLY TWO OF THEM, AND ONE OF THEM'S A GIRL!" Hermione scowled and vowed revenge.

She could see her wand now, next to a diamond and ruby skull ring that looked exactly like the one set into the pommel of Nico's sword. Both objects were set on top of a keg of beer in the corner. She could just bound over there and get them, if there wasn't a massive wolf in the way. Hermione couldn't take any chances, Greek or not, it was still a werewolf. She put her palms up, trying to approach the wolf like you would any stray. It would have none of it, canines now bared, drool dripping down from bloody gums. The eyes were feral.

Hermione only needed to distract the beast long enough to perform a little wand less magic to retrieve the weapons. She could hear Nico trying to take care of the Death Eaters long enough for her to grab what they needed.

"_Accio weapons_." She whispered. The wolf lunged as the ring and her wand flew at her.

As soon as the ring hit her palm, it twisted and elongated into Nico's three foot long, black iron sword. It probably weighed as much as she. The pommel felt worn and the skull glittered dangerously. With one might heave, she swiped at the growling wolf pinning her legs down.

The blade passed right through. Even the wolf seemed surprised that it wasn't dead. It was stunned long enough for Hermione to roll herself out from under the beast and yell, "Nico!"

One of the four Death Eaters was out cold, or maybe dead, it was hard to tell. Another was clutching his bleeding nose, sprawled on the floor. Nico had one by the neck and the last one was clawing at Nico's back.

"_IMPEDEMENTA_!" Hermione shrieked. The Death Eater on Nico's back fell off, and the latter dropped the one he'd had by the neck and kicked him once in the stomach for good measure. "Thanks for-" Nico started and then suddenly lunged mid sentence and tackled Hermione to the ground as the wolf occupied the space she had been moments before.

Nico took the sword from her, as she stunned the wolf. It looked almost confused as it toppled over.

Hermione got a good look at Nico. His shirt had been ripped open in several places, giving Hermione a clear view of a toned stomach and chest (not that she was looking, of course) and he had the beginnings of a great black eye. His expensive looking leather jacket had been scuffed on the shoulders and was covered in blood.

"Do you...have...a plan...?" Nico was gasping for breath. Hermione surprised herself when she nodded. "But we have to get out of here first," she said, already dragging the man towards the door, "stunning hexes don't last forever."

"I guess I owe you some explanations." Nico said.

Hermione gave him a look that would have rivaled Mrs. Weasley. She swore she heard a low growl as they hurried out the door.

**The chapter title was a riff on Little Red Riding Hood, so, yeah. Hopefully you didn't find it too weird. **

**From this point on I am totally shipping NIMIONE so if you have a problem, this story isn't for you. I also totally bs'ed the Lycan thing so don't get mad at me about the historical inaccuracy of it. I did it for the sake of the plot. Finally, about Nico's sword, only the ****_metal blade_**** sucks out your soul, I'm sure the pommel is made of normal sword-pommel materials; Hermione is fine.**

**All will be revealed more or less in the next chapter. Please review, my inbox is sad and lonely. Reviews are love! (Does anyone even read these notes?)**


	4. Black Sheep

**Thank you sooooo much guys for the reviews. The number practically tripled since the last update. Once again, thank ya'll for favoriting and following! **

**Chapter 4**

**Black Sheep**

They ended up in an alley again. Alleys seemed to be Nico's hiding place of choice, though thankfully this one wasnt quite as tight as the last one. Even so, Hermione could easily smell the sweaty, musky scent mixed with blood that hung to Nico's skin and clothes. If the blood was Nico's or the Death Eaters', she couldn't be sure.

She had lost all direction, and as far as she knew they weren't even in Surrey anymore. Nico, as always, didn't seem phased. "So, your plan, sweetheart?" He said. Hermione looked at him in shock as Nico easily took out a cigarette from the pack that was somehow still in his pocket and said, "Would you light this for me?"

Hermione gave him an incredible look. Nico raised an eyebrow. She sighed, "_Incendio_." He gave her a winning smile, all white teeth that reflected in the spotty light coming from the street lights around the alley's corner.

The brunette witch threw her head back, leaning it against the alley wall, "I have to send a patronus, or a message of sorts, down to my, er, friends at the police department and they'll come and take care of the Death Eaters. You seem to know enough about the wolf in order to kill it, but obviously your sword isn't going to do the trick."

"You should know you can only kill werewolves, well, Greek ones anyways, with silver, but I think I have that covered. It sounds like a solid plan so far," Nico said, taking a drag on his cigarette, "but won't the patronus or whatever attract attention?"

Hermione nodded, "That's the thing. Once I cast the spell, we'll have to get out of the area. Fast. And I need a location to give the Aur-police so they can meet us there, but I have no idea where we are." Nico nodded, stomping out his cigarette and blowing out some spoke. He thought a minute and said, "We're still in Surrey, I believe. We ran past this place while we were running from the Death Eaters."

"Do you think you could get us back to the pub?" Hermione asked. Nico nodded, "I should be able to. If I have to get a silver weapon, I'll have to conduct some magic of my own, which will be putting up a huge detectable flare for the wolf. Monsters like that detect strong magic, and we're not that far from them."

The witch rolled her neck, which was starting to get stiff again, "Speaking of which, you still owe me an explanation."

"_Sí, bella_, I do. Walk with me, will you?" He took long strides out of the alley. Hermione jogged to catch up.

.

.

.

If she hadn't gone to a wizardry school in Scotland and rode on the back of a dragon, she probably wouldn't have believed him. Greek gods? Existing?

It made sense. Nico explained about Hecate and how her children had similar powers to Hermione, but stronger. "They don't use wands," he explained, "the magic is pure enough to simply use their bodies to channel it." And now that he mentioned it, his story didn't have a lot of holes. Hermione had read Homer, and everything matched up.

"So your godly parent?" She had asked as they turned a corner. By now they had walked two blocks or so, and their surroundings were starting to look familiar. As soon as she had asked the question, the air turned colder, and Hermione stumbled in her heels. Cushioning charms worked wonders.

"The Lord of the Dead," was all Nico said.

Hades.

That explained a lot. Why Nico was as cold as a corpse, the hypnotizing sword as black as night, they weird teleportation thing that he had pulled in the basement. And if he had been trained, that also explained why he wasn't phased by anything they had come across. "You're not the only one that's helped defeat your fair share of baddies. The Battle of Manhattan happend when I was about 12 or so, and don't even get me started on the Second Giant War," he had told her. That had thrown Hermione for a loop. She had then decided to not be surprised by anything that came out of Nico's mouth after.

"Are there many of you?" She asked. Nico considered this question, "Depends on how you look at it. If you count just half-bloods: half god-half mortal, there's probably a few hundred of us, a fraction of a percent of the world's population. But it you count legacies, people with godly blood in their veins or in their family history, there's tons. _Mi mama_, she was a child of _Roma_. A legacy of Venus." There was a pause, "Love and Death are more similar than you'd expect."

A little voice in Hermione's head whispered impishly, _That does explain why he's so bloody good looking._ "How do you know who I am and what I do?" The son of Hades just smirked, "Being the Prince of the Dead gives you access to some, ah, classified information. Tom Riddle was a nasty one to catch, and a stitch in the side to everybody downstairs, if you will. The paperwork was _horrendous_."

Hermione shouldn't have laughed.

Nico suddenly stopped short. "We're a block or two from the pub. Shall I leave you to your devices, and you leave me to mine?" The witch looked up at his face, watching his dark eyes glitter. She blushed suddenly, having caught herself staring, "Ahem. Yes, that'd be best."

He pointed to a building with a rusty water pipe running down the side, "I'll be over there if you need anything." Hermione turned away from the wall, giving Nico his privacy. She drew her wand and thought about her message: she needed to tell them location, numbers...and should she tell the bit about the wolf? Yes, she decided. Carefully, Hermione raided her wand and said, "_Expecto_ _patronum_!" A silvery otter burst from the tip of her wand and sliced through the dark, heavy, Surrey air.

She heard a low whistle. Hermione spun around to see Nico watching her intently. "An otter. Do you know what they symbolize?" He took a step forward and cupped her jaw with his long, pale fingers. She shook her head no. "Curiosity, strong feminine power, grace, a mischievous aura...they seem to fit you quite well, Hermione." His face was now inches from hers, and it would be easy to just go on tip toe and-

The sound of a pop and the flapping of wings broke Nico out of his trance and he brought himself upright quick enough for his lower back to crack. He winced as Hermione looked up at the package flying just to the left of Nico's head. It was about the length of her forearm and maybe twice the width. Her dark haired companion muttered something about a cockblock and snatched the package from midair.

"Your weapon?" She asked.

Nico nodded, "_Sí_. My sister obviously sent it rush delivery." He tore open the package with his teeth (which Hermione absolutely did _not_ find sexy, at least, that's what she told herself) and opened up the box to reveal a long, double edged, silver knife with a black leather handle inlaid with mother of pearl. "_Styx_," Nico swore, rolling his eyes, "I wanted something silver, not a goddess's hunting knife. A bit over the top, dontcha think?"

It was a very pretty knife for just being used to kill a werewolf. Nico shrugged and stuck the thing in his boot. "C'mon, the pub is just around the corner." He offered her his arm and with a very "why the hell not" attitude, Hermione took it, and they strolled down the street together.

**So, about the sheep thing. Hades's sacred animal is the black sheep, and England/Great Britian is called the black sheep of the EU (Hetalia references, for some of you) so that's a thing. There's not a lot action this this chapter, I get it, there's more in the next one.**

**Bit of a head cannon thing with Nico's mother, but it might have been in the books (I read them forever ago, sorry if this is wrong) or fanfiction, but Nico's mother is described as a child of Rome, so I went with that. **

**This whole fic will probably be wrapped up in two more chapters or so, so this is what I'm going to do: leave a review about a future fic you might want to see or PM me about it. I have a Tratie one shot in the works!**


	5. The Thrill of the Fight

**Holy crap, you guys. Thank you so much for the awesome reviews and for following and favoriting. Here's your update, and there's a note at the end, so please read that!**

**Chapter 5**

**The Thrill of the Fight**

Hermione didn't know what she was expecting, but nothing on the exterior of the pub had changed since the beginning of their adventure. It was now four thirty in the morning, and the sun would soon start to perk up behind the horizon. She vowed after this to never go out with Ginny and Luna against her will again.

They came to the side door where they had first met up. Hermione could now see that there were two figures nestled in the shadows by the side door. The witch went to draw her wand, but a hand on her arm stopped her. She looked up to meet Nico's gaze. Still looking at her, Nico's face broke into a smile as he said, "Leo, would you at least have enough class to take her back to the hotel room?"

A head of curly hair emerged from the shadows and Hermione was surprised to see the man Ginny had been sitting on earlier. He looked Latino, now that Hermione got a better look at him, and had brown eyes and pointed, elf-like ears. He was also much shorter than Hermione thought he'd be, and would probably only come up to Nico's shoulder. "What's the matter, _amigo_, looks like you got a _chica_ of your own." Leo gave an impish grin. Ginny appeared from behind him.

"Don't be a _stronzo_, Leo." Nico said flatly. It sounded to Hermione that Nico told Leo this a lot. Ginny was smirking, looking at Hermione, "You seem to be enjoying yourself, at least. Took long enough." The brunette witch snorted at her friend's comment, "That's one way of saying it."

Leo finally seemed to notice that Nico was only wearing about half of his shirt and was covered in blood. "Dude, what the hell happened to you? You look like someone dragged you through the Fields of Punishment." At the sound of that name, the temperature dropped about five degrees. Hermione shivered. Nico gave Leo a look that clearly said, _Don't mention that again_, and took a minute before speaking, "There's been a bit of trouble tonight, and this lovely _signora_ has unfortunately gotten caught up in it."

A look of comprehension dawned of Leo's face, "_Mierda_. Seriously? No shit?" Nico shook his head. Ginny gave Hermione a look, "Er, what the hell are they talking about?" Hermione dragged Ginny a few feet over and let the boys talk quietly among themselves.

"Look," Hermione said, "Nico and I spotted four Death Eaters across the street and they came after us. Nico, and Leo too, I'm guessing, aren't quite like us, but our worlds do overlap. I think Nico and I have it all under control. And speaking of Leo, are you actually drunk enough to realize you're cheating on the savior of the Wizarding world?" Ginny had the decency to look sheepish and go as red as her hair. Hermione was certainly not done berading her friend, but was interrupted by a long growl that made the hair on the back of her neck stick up.

"Leo, take the girl, you know what to do," Nico said, and suddenly Ginny was being pulled along by the Latino back into the pub. Hermione backed up until she was, for the second time that night, back to back with Nico, the son of Hades. "Will Gin be okay?" Hermione asked.

Nico gave the slightest of nods, both his sword and the silver knife had been drawn. "Leo's powerful, a son of Hephaestus. Your friend will be fine."

"Unlike the two a'you, in a minute." The first of the Death Eaters showed his face-er-mask. Hermione recognized the voice as the leader's, the man that had been talking about the plans while they had been locked up. Nico pointed both weapons as the man, and Hermione drew her wand.

The growling grew louder. The three other Death Eaters stepped out from the shadowy places surrounding the side of the pub. The wolf bared his ugly head, growling, hackles raised.

Hermione could not duel four wizards at once. Nico's sword would not be enough against the wolf. Hermione was about to make a very stupid decision.

"Nico, give me the knife." Hermione whispered.

"Now, ya can come easily, and we'll kill tha' boy nice and quick, and you, miss, might make it out alive, too." The head Death Eater was saying.

Hermione was surprised how easily he discretely shifted the knife into her hand. "You, wizards; me, wolf," was all Hermione said, before Nico gave a shrill war cry and disrupted the head Death Eater mid-monologue. Said Death Eater did not take that lightly, and all four of them charged at Nico at once, shouting spells that blurred in the early Surrey morning.

The wolf lunged at Hermione.

Hermione lunged and dodged like she had seen Nico do earlier. She shouted, "_IMPEDEMENTA!_" And the wolf dropped suddenly, staying that way...

...for about five seconds.

The wolf lunged again, managing to trap Hermione by the ankle. She could feel the wolf's sharp claws digging into her skin, causing a painful stinging sensation. The wolf reeked of dead animal. Hermione kicked the wolf in the snout, being careful not to get caught in the teeth. The animal growled and snapped at her, and the witch narrowly avoided being bit.

"_Depulso!_" Hermione shouted, and the wolf was thrown into the brickwork of the pub. It landed with a whimper, but got to its feet quickly. Hermione was able to spare a glance towards Nico, who seemed to already have knocked out (or killed; again, Hermione wasn't completely sure) two of them, but one hand him face down on the dirt. The other looked like he was pummeling his back.

"Oh, hell," Hermione said, "_everte statum_." The Death Eater punching Nico was thrown back, similar to the wolf.

Speaking of which, the copper eyes were trained on Hermione once more. Hermione gripped the knife tighter, and it seemed to pulse under her hand. The wolf pulled the muscles in its back legs taught, ready to pounce. The brunette witch kicked off her high heels and crouched low.

The wolf moved first.

It pounced and landed on her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Gasping for breath, Hermione stared down the wolf, who was drooling from pulled lips. The witch tightened her hold on the knife and rolled with all her might away from the wolf.

Now again realizing its prey had escaped, the wolf growled once more, and for the last time, lunged.

Nico's knife, held tight in Hermione's left hand, was put right through the wolf's heart.

The poor thing almost looked confused as it fell to the ground, curling up on itself. Time seemed to stop, as the light left the wolf's copper eyes and Nico dropped the last Death Eater to the ground, now having got the best of the last two remaining. He knelt down next to her (when had she fallen to her knees?) and hugged her, taking the knife from her.

Hermione's face ended up buried in his neck, taking a deep breath. She smelled faint traces of expensive cologne, and of course blood and sweat. He held her, as the dark Surrey night was interrupted by a series of loud pops.

"Miss Hermione Granger?"

The Aurors had arrived.

**Please read!**

**So the next chapter will be the last chapter, and I'd like to thank ya'll for reading! I have a few ideas about other stories, but I really have no idea what you guys wanna see, so there's a poll on my profile. Please vote, it takes like ten seconds, and by all means keep sending me your story ideas, I've had a couple good ones!**

**The chapter title is from The Eye of the Tiger (which, disclaimer, doesn't belong to me). Some translations:**

**Amigo- friend (Spanish)**

**Chica- girl (Spanish)**

**Stronzo- asshole (Italian)**

**Signora- lady (Italian)**

**Mierda- shit (Spanish)**


	6. The End of the Beginning

**It's been fun guys, but all things must come to a close.**

**Chapter 6**

**The End of the Beginning**

Hermione was surprised Harry and Ron were able to get much more than a first name out of Nico. She supposed she was lucky though, as it was Harry and Ron, among a few others, that had gotten her message. No matter how awkward things with Ron had been after their breakup two years ago, he was still a very good friend.

Leo had made another appearance, somehow procuring another shirt for Nico, Hermione's high heels, and a very flustered Ginny who was soon wrapped around Harry, only to be carted back home by one of the other Aurors. Luna showed up, as the Death Eaters were being bound (apparently, Nico had taken mercy on them and had _not_ killed them) as silent as ever, with her usual dreamy look in her eyes. She said something about Nargles that Hermione didn't quite catch, and disappeared down the street.

Hermione was content in watching the controlled chaos outside of that little pub in Surrey, as Nico somehow came up with a bs story that would hopefully answer Harry and Ron's questions. The silver hunting knife was back in Nico's boot, the wolf's carcass gone, but the ground where it had been was covered in a fine gold dust. Harry and Ron didn't seem to notice his weapons, and Hermione was far too tired to point anything out to them. All she wanted was for this to be over so she could take a shower and go to bed, for maybe ever.

No such luck though. She was called into questioning by Ron, who, by the looks of things didn't look too impressed with Nico. Said half-blood was leaning against the pub wall, as Leo bounced on the balls of his feet, talking fast in English, Spanish and what seemed like...Greek? Nico would say a word or two once in a while back to Leo, in any of the three languages, in between drags of a cigarette he had fished out of his pack. Harry looked exasperated, and very confused.

"Hermione? D'you mind giving us your account?" Harry asked, he looked tired, too, maybe more so than herself. The hours an Auror had to work were insane, of course. Hermione launched into a very short explanation of things, leaving out a few key parts; like who Nico really was, the wolf, and the almost kiss. _Especially_ the almost kiss. The story was full of holes, but in the end, Harry seemed satisfied, or maybe too tired to care; it had been some what of an all-nighter.

Ron, however, looked far from happy about the prospect of letting Leo, and especially Nico, go free, "We're not even going to bring them back to HQ?"

Harry gave him a tired look, "It's late, Ron, we've been up all night, neither of them did anything illegal, and they rounded up four Death Eaters for us. I've got their contact information, it's fine. If you want to question them, be my guest, but I'm going home. I've got to check on Gin, you know that."

Nico smirked, "Sorry, _signore_, but your friend is right, though you've also got to thank Hermione here, she's the one who came up with the plan." He sent her a wink, and the brunette witch blamed her blush on the fatigue. Ron looked furious, "Don't even try, mate, she's too good for you."

"She's a feisty _chica_, that's for sure," Leo said with a laugh. Nico stomped out his cigarette, then smacked Leo on the back of the head, "Don't be a _stronzo_, it's too late for me to have to deal with you and your shit." Leo just laughed again.

With a sigh, Harry said, "It's about time we all get to bed. It's been a hell of a night for everyone." The male two thirds of the Golden Trio jogged off towards the apparation point, Ron a bit reluctant and not seeming happy about the turn of events.

"Hear, hear," Leo chorused, and strolled behind them, leaving Hermione alone with Nico. He just smiled at her, "_Grazie_,_ bella_, for saving my sorry ass back there. You're not a bad fighter, for a mortal, of course." Hermione smiled, "Well, it definitely was one of the most exciting Girls Nights I've ever had."

She could smell his cologne again, he'd taken a step closer, "Yeah, some friends we have." She turned towards him, and was taken aback by how close Nico actually was, and how _happy_ he sounded when he said, "I'm going to kiss you now, and nothing is going to stop me this time."

His lips were chapped, and tasted like cigarettes, and surprisingly gin and tonic. Hermione had to go up on her tip-toes to kiss him properly, to be able to wrap her arms around his neck. _Merlin_, she thought,_ I don't even know his last name, and I'm snogging him in the middle of Surrey._

"Di Angelo." Nico said a little breathlessly, as he pulled away, still only centimeters away from her face. "What?" She asked, still slightly befuddled.

"My last name, it's di Angelo." He said. "Should I be worried you can read my mind?" She asked.

Nico di Angelo laughed, and Hermione felt like a giddy school girl all over again, instead of someone who had just killed a werewolf, "Your soul, it's entirely different, I promise, plus you were practically screaming it. And I now realize that I've already kissed you and we haven't even gone out on a date."

Hermione considered this, "We have, if you count getting kidnapped and werewolf hunting as a _very_ unorthodox date." He laughed again, "Even so, we're in England, and I feel the need to be a gentleman, so we're going to get a drink."

The sun was just coming up over the horizon, "It's too early to get a drink," she said, "or too late, depending on how you look at it."

"Coffee, then. Or tea?" The hopeful look on his face was adorable, far from his battle expression, even when he was covered in blood and sweat, and looked like he'd broken his way out of a fight club. "You want to go get coffee when we're both exhausted, covered in grime and blood, at an ungodly hour of the morning." It wasn't a question that Hermione was asking.

"I keep forgetting this isn't New York." Nico said, almost to himself. The brunette witch gave him a look, "You can get a cup of coffee at an ungodly hour of the morning in New York while covered in grime and blood?"

"You can do a hell of a lot of stuff in New York." Nico turned and watched the sunrise for a moment before saying, "I've got a little place in Rome where it's not such an ungodly hour of the morning, do you want to...?"

"Are you suggesting...?"

"Maybe. Are you _agreeing_?"

"Your attempt at being a gentleman is very weak, I met you less than five hours ago."

Nico laughed and pecked her lips again. She could get used to that, "We captured Death Eaters, got kidnapped together, and killed a werewolf. You said it yourself. If that's not the start of a solid relationship, I have no idea what is." It was Hermione's turn to laugh, "And pray tell Mr. di Angelo, exactly how we'll get to your little place in Rome?"

The tall, dark, and handsome American stranger she had met at the pub gave her a smirk, "My own brand of magic, sweetheart. Hold on tight." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressed his lips against hers, and Surrey dissolved around them into cold and dark.

Perhaps Hermione Granger's Girls Night in Surrey had come to a close, with more than favorable results, but her adventure in Rome was only just beginning and not even Zeus knew, what it would have in store.

THE END

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**Things got a bit sexual in this chapter, that was for you, PrincessoftheMoon87. Hope ya'll appreciated that. There will probably be a sequel of some sort, since that's what you guys have been voting for in the poll, which is still open, so keep voting!**

**There's going to a HP fic, the first chapter is in the works, so look forward to that!**

**EDIT: THE POLL IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU TO ALL THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT VOTED. RESULTS ARE POSTED ON MY BIO.**


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